ED raids promoters of Tadoba Andhari tiger safari over alleged fraud

The Enforcement Directorate Friday said it has conducted searches against the promoters of a company that collects safari fee at a tiger reserve in Maharashtra for alleged fraud of Rs 12 crore with the state government.

The raids were carried out between January 8 and 9 at seven premises in the adjoining districts of Chandrapur and Nagpur related to Abhishek Vinodkumar Thakur and Rohit Vinodkumar Thakur, owners of the company named Wild Connectivity Solutions (WCS), and their related entities, the federal agency said in a statement.

WCS was engaged by the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, through a service-level agreement of December 2021, to provide uninterrupted services to visitors, including collecting entry fees, gypsy charges and guide charges, the ED said.

"However, the company owners (Abhishek Vinodkumar Thakur and Rohit Vinodkumar Thakur) violated the terms of the agreement and cheated the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve Conservation Foundation to the extent of Rs 12.15 crore during 2020-21 to 2023-24," the agency alleged.

The money laundering stems from an FIR filed by Chandrapur police against the owners and the company for "defrauding the government through financial misconduct and impacting the (Maharashtra) forest department".

The agency claimed the directors of WCS utilised the "fraudulently" gained amounts for acquisition of personal properties and for payment of past loans availed in the name of other entities.

Gold, diamond and platinum jewellery and bullion worth Rs 1.42 crore apart from property documents were seized during the raids, it said.